Brick pallet



L. G. WOODS.

BRICK PALLET.

APPLICATION FILED APIL22. 1920.

1,416,432.. v Patented May 16, 1922.

LEONARD Gr. WOODS, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

BRICK PALLET.

`Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May i6. i922.,

Application filed April 22, 1920. Serial No. 3."5,734

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEONARD G. WooDs, a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Brick Pallets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates t0 pallets for use in brick making plants on which the green bricks are placed and carried on rack cars to and through the drying tunnels and thence to and through the kilns. The object of the invention is to provide a pallet which, as compared with prior pallets, has a long life under the rather severe usage and unfavorable conditions to which pallets are subjected.

The pallets most largely used in brick making plants are made of sheet metal, with the edges turned down to stiiien the same. The moisture in the green brick, in connection with the high temperature and gases in the drying tunnels and kilns, is exceedingly destructive of steel pallets. The corrosion of such pallets under these conditions not only quickly destroys the same, but badly marks high grade building brick with unsightly iron rust stains, and in the case of high grade fire brick the rust or scale absorbed by the brick from the pallets lowers their heat resisting qualities. As the life of such pallets is rather short and as their cost is quite high, a large amount of capital is tied up in the necessary number of pallets for a large plant, and the frequent renewal of the same involves a large expense.

The present invention overcomes the foregoing difficulties. Generally stated it comprises a sheet metal plate pallet which is entirely 'covered and protected by a thin closely adhering enamel coating.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of a pallet with the invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a side view thereof; and Fig. 3 is a transverse section, on an enlarged scale, on the line ewa, Fig. i.

The pallet illustrated comprises a sheet metal plate l having its side edges turned downwardly to form flanges 2, to stiifen the same, such flanges however terminating short of the ends of the plate in order to provide portions 3 at the ends of the plate extending beyond the sides of the pallet and serving to space the pallets apart on the rack cars to permit the circulation of air currents between the pallets.

The form of the pallet so far described is one which has been heretofore used, but its form is not material, as the steel plate may be made of any of the known forms. rIhese plates are of sufficient thickness so that when the side edges are flanged downwardly they have the necessary stiffness, and can be made of any desired dimensions. Usually such pallets are about l() inches wide and 29 inches long.

rllhe improvement consists in providing a sheet metal plate, after it is formed to shape, and entirely over both surfaces, with a closely adhering thin enamel coating, indicated at et, F ig. 3. Any suitable enamel may be used and this can be applied in any of the ways of applying enamel to metal arti cles, and will then be baked on, at a suitable temperature, about 16000 Fahrenheit. This thin enamel coating is so applied and so baked on that it is fused strongly to and partly into the metal of the pallet. Inas much as pallets are subjected to quite severe knocks it is essential that the enamel coating` be thin, as a thin coating does not chip off as readily as a thick coating. It must, however, coat or cover the entire surface of the plate so as to protect the steel from the moisture and generated in the tunnels and kilns.

A sheet steel pallet protected by a thin closely adhering coat of enamel has been found to have many times the life of similar sheet steel pallets protected in the usual way.

I claim:

A pallet for supporting bricks before and during the burning thereof, consisting of a sheet metal plate adapted to receive and support the green bricks, the plate being'v thinly covered with a closely adherent enamel, whereby to prevent sticking of the brick to the plate and reaction of the metal with the constituents 0f the brick.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

LEONARD G. VOODS. lVitness:

S. E. SwARTz. 

